Improvement in cultivators



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L. LEBER.

Wheel-Cultivator.

Patented Aug. 2l-, 1860.

NPEIIERS. FKUTO'UTHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON. 0 C.

'2 Sheetssheet 2. L. LEBER.

Wheel-Cultivator.

No. 29,704. Patented Aug 21; 1860.

49w eraf r MPETERS, PNOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. o O.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEETIS LEBER, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CULTIVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 29,704, dated August 21, 1860.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEWIS LEBER, of Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cultivators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 a front elevation, of my machine.

Similar letters of reference in each of the several figures represent corresponding parts.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The main frame of the machine rests upon two driving-wheels A A. Two arms,B B, extend from the main frame downward at each side of the machine. A short cross-bar, G, is

fastened to the lower end of each of the arms B B by means of a slot and clamp-screw, D. A similar cross-bar, O,is attached to the lower end of each of two vertical guide-rods, E, by means of a similar slot and clamp-screw, D. These guide-rods are connected to the lower part of the arms B B by means of collars 1*, which slide up and down on said arms. The

- upper ends of the rods E E are guided in slots in the main frame. By this means cross-bar U can be freely raised or lowered, while the rods E E, being guided above and below, prevent any lateral play or strain. The crossbars 0 O can be raised or allowed to descend by means of a hand-lever, G, near the drivers seat H, which hand-lever serves to operate the two levers I I,,to which the cross-bars are hung by chains J J. Each pair of cross-bars G 0 serves as a bearing for a pair of parallel plowbeams, K K, to which the plows L L L L are secured. Each of the plow-beams has at its rear end a pivot, M, fitting into a hole near the end of. the cross-bar C, while the forward end of each plow-beam is hung to the end of crossbar 0' by means ofa kind of anniversal joint, N. By operating the hand lever as above set forth the cross-bars G O can be raised, and, together with them, the rear ends of the plow-beams, the universal joints at their forward ends serving as the centers of such motion of the plowbeams. By this means it will be understood the plows can be adjusted vertically at any required height above the ground.

An upright arm, 0 and 0, extends from each of the plow-beams, the outer arms, 0, being higher, and their upper ends connected by a rod, P, so that they may be simultaneously moved in a lateral direction by means of a hand-lever, Q, extending from one of the uprights, 0, to near the drivers'seat. The short and long arm 0 and O of each pair of plowbeams are connected by short rods R. It will be seen that on moving the upper ends of the uprights O O laterally all the plow-beams will be made to turn on their pivots and universal joints,andtheplowswillcorrespondinglyswing tooneside. Thusthedrivercaneasilyadjustthe plows to any desired height above the ground, and also to any bends or crooks in the rows, or any otherirregularitiesin the path of the plows, without stopping the progress of the machine.

The slots and clamp-screws, by means of which the cross-bars GO (3' G are attached to thearms B B BB, serve to set the plows at a greater or less distance from each other, so as to conform to the distance between the rows of a field.

The central portion of the main frame, together with the draft-pole T, is considerably elevated above the ground, so as not to interfere with corn-plants of any usual height.

To equalize the draft of the animals the single-trees UU are hung to the lower ends of vertical levers V V, the upper ends of which are hung to the outer ends of a cross-bar, W, which latter is pivoted in the center to the top of the draft-pole. The levers V V have their fulcra about half way between their upper and lower ends, being hung to the arms B B at that point, as seen atX. By the employment ofthese vertical levers and a cross-bar on top of the draft-pole said cross-bar is prevented from interferin g with the passage of the machine over the rows of corn-plants, and yet the draft is equalized as it is in a common carriage, where the single-trees are directly connected to the cross-bar.

To allow the draft-pole to be placed at a com siderable height an arched yoke,Y,is attached to the end of the draft-pole. The animals can be hitched to the rings Z Z at the extremities of the arch, while its raised central portion passes freelyover the corn-plants without coming in contact with them.

single-trees U, the cross-bar W at the top of an elevated draft-pole, two vertical levers,V V,

What I claim as my invention, and desire to and an arched yoke,Y substantially as and for secure byLetters Patent, is-- 1. The arrangement of the plows K L and the cultivator-frame, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination,with a cultivator, of the the purposes set forth.

LEWIS LEBER. Witnesses:

GOODWIN Y. ATLEE, R0131. W. FENWIOK. 

